A Happy Accident
by Shenlong Girl
Summary: What if, instead of Jack flinging the TARDIS to the end of this universe in Utopia, the ship had jumped universes instead? Originally written for the OT3 ficathon, meaning it's Ten/Jack/Rose.
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: A Happy Accident  
**Author:** Shen  
**Rating:** PG  
**Summary:** What if, instead of Jack flinging the TARDIS to the end of this universe in Utopia, the ship had jumped universes instead? Originally written for the OT3 ficathon.

**Chapter One: Collisions**

"Doctor!" The huffing of ragged breath is overtaken by clopping of heavy shoes on pavement. "DOCTOR!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Doctor glances at the screen and felt his eyes widen. Seeing the figure racing towards his ship puts both of his hearts into a syncopated rhythm. Somewhere between guilt at past deeds and instinctual fear, his flight or flight instinct muscles its way to the fore. And, well, he was rarely a fighter.

As he throws the TARDIS into gear, it lurches and sparks, throwing his companion and him to the side.

Martha asks, "What's that?" The Doctor is already squinting at readouts.

"We're accelerating? In... time? Space? I don't know; these readings don't make any sense!" A renewed sense of panic floods his system. Had his fear of ... of _personal awkwardness_ sent his ship spiraling into untested depths of the Vortex? What if they were torn apart? He has enough time to ponder well over a dozen horrible possible outcomes of this debacle before the ship shudders and lands.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rose crouches behind a lead-lined barrier, one of the many encircling the field. Odd readings had been coming from this location for roughly a day, including bits of Void stuff. In the last few hours, Torchwood had pinpointed the space where readings were spiking the most and formed a perimeter. Was it Daleks? Cybermen? Some unknown terror of the Void? There was no way of knowing, but she had made sure all teams were briefed on the nature of Daleks, even as most knew all too well how to deal with Cybermen. Other than that, all they could do is wait behind the radiation shielding.

A noise slowly rises above the muttering of soldiers. To a man, they tense into a crouch, anxiously anticipating the unknown danger. All except Rose.

"Ma'am?" asks her second-in-command, alarmed. She ignores him, slowly walking out from behind the barrier and approaching the center of their perimeter. That sound! People were shouting for her to get back, but she waved them quiet.

VWOORP. VWOORP.

A 1950'S Police Box materializes before her... and a grey-clad figure falls off of its side.

"What?" she whispers to herself, staring in disbelief at the body on the ground. Even from here, she can see he isn't breathing. She runs towards him, sliding to her knees at his side and checking his vitals.

"Oh my god- Jack," she exclaims in pure shock... then sobs, heartbroken. Jack was alive? But to find out now, moments too late! Outraged by her fortune, she wails her confusion to his corpse, "What the _bleeding hell_ were you doing on the outside of the TARDIS?"

A loud gasp comes from his form, causing Rose to flail backwards even as his hands grip her upper arms.

"AAAH!" He looks at her yelping face in alarm, then splits his own visage with a grin.

"AAHAHA!" He hugs her – which, from his position, is more like hauling her to the ground on top of him. Suddenly, she hears the clicking of dozens of guns being placed into position and prepared to fire. She had a decision to make. Was this really-

He playfully bit her ear, then kissed her temple. Yep, this was Jack.

"Don't shoot! He's a friend; it's okay," she called over her shoulder before turning to nuzzle his neck back. She must've been panicked and misconstrued his unconsciousness as death. Silly mistake for a pro, but she'd never been so happy to be wrong.

Finally, Jack let Rose go, and they both stood up. Beaming, he exclaimed, "Rose, you're alive!" She barked a laugh.

"You're one to talk!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Meanwhile inside the TARDIS, Ten helps Martha up from the floor.

"Well, we've landed."

"So what's out there?" The Doctor took a breath.

"I don't know." Martha's eyes widen.

"Say that again. That's rare." She's amused! Titillated, even!

Annoyed at his lack of information, the Doctor answers shortly, "I told you, the readings didn't make any sense. Absolutely anything could be out there."


	2. Meetings

**Title**: A Happy Accident  
**Author:** Shen  
**Rating:** PG  
**Summary:** What if, instead of Jack flinging the TARDIS to the end of this universe in Utopia, the ship had jumped universes instead? Originally written for the OT3 ficathon.

**Chapter Two: Meetings**

With a _snk_ and a long squeak, the TARDIS doors open. Rose grins expectantly and watches. Some portion of her brain picks up on the way Jack tenses at her side, but she thinks nothing of it. The Doctor is about to walk into her life once more; that fact takes up almost the entirety of her focus.

A thin, black woman in a stylish red jacket skips out the door.

"Er," Rose sputters momentarily, "hello?" The young woman opens her mouth as if to respond, glances around, and immediately leaps backwards into the TARDIS again.

"Oof!" comes a familiar voice from inside, accompanied by a metallic banging. "What in blazes-"

"There are guns. An awful lot of guns," Rose hears the woman expound worriedly. Ah, of course. The other agents had stopped aiming at Jack at Rose's behest. Still, the newcomer possessed no such endorsement from her, so necessary caution was being used – in the form of a large number of rifle muzzles aimed from every direction.

Rose looks at Jack. He shakes his head, apparently as confused as she, but his brows are knit and the carefree joy of several moments ago completely gone. And at last, the fog of disorientation and joy dispelled, it becomes clear to Rose that something is very wrong. Or at least… amiss. The Doctor should have run out to her first, hell or high water. Jack should be as jubilant as she is, and he certainly shouldn't have been TARDIS-surfing through the Void.

She visibly shakes herself. There's a duty beyond her own personal drama, no matter how prodigious it is.

"Weapons down," she orders, swinging away from the TARDIS. If her eyes linger on the box, her personnel will think it's concern for safety. Not… well.

"Jefferson." At her wave, her second-in-command walks over. His dark eyes, set in a deep brown face, look at her with intense curiosity.

"Ma'am?"

"Send these men home. Have them disassemble the barriers first. I'll take care of this; just tell Pete to expect us at HQ."

"Ma'am…" he repeats hesitantly. Rose sighs, trying to bleed the disquiet from her expression.

"You can stay; I won't break protocol. Have Campbell and Shah direct everyone else."

"Excellent." He grins, having heard what he wanted. She shakes her head affectionately as he trots off. For a _second_-in-command, he's very apt at keeping her in line. Without a hint of insubordination, of course. The consummate lieutenant. And now…

She takes a breath. It doesn't slow her heart one iota. With trepidation, she turns.

The Doctor hangs half out the door, his palms resting on the inside of the frame. He probably started with a cheeky grin, but now he sports a jaw-dropped, blank-eyed, porcupine-headed visage of pure shock. Rose smiles and turns to Jack.

"Did we break him?" she asks jovially, but the man looks stern, almost angry. He takes measured steps up to the Doctor, who finally walks out of the ship. The woman follows him after a moment, looking dreadfully confused.

"Doctor." Barely controlled.

"Jack." Cautious. The moment is extraordinarily tense, until a grin randomly splits Jack's face.

"Rose is alive!" He hugs the Doctor fiercely and is squeezed in return. "You have no idea how I… doesn't matter." The men share a last squeeze and a laugh before the Doctor turns to Rose, arms open. Two steps and she's wrapped in him, adjusting to get as close as possible. Curves meld into planes; faces turn into the crooks of necks.

Rounding out the moment of reunion, a laughing Jack throws his arms around their backs and picks the both of them up just a few inches off the ground. A questionable benefit of this Doctor's slimmer form, Rose thinks as the air rushes from her lungs and she makes an undignified "nngerg" noise.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Oh. That's iRose,/i waiting outside the ship. Though, _that's_ Rose? Figures she'd be pretty. And blonde. And apparently some kind of militant, though that didn't match what she would expect the Doctor to be interested in.

What were the chances that the TARDIS would fly out of control and randomly crash in front of his old girlfriend? Though they don't look like a pair that had broken up. Martha feels she has to be missing part of the story.

"Martha, come here!" the Doctor calls jubilantly. While she was in her reverie, they must have finished their hug. He draws her forward with a friendly hand on the back. "Martha Jones, this is Jack Harkness and Rose Tyler. Rose, Jack – Martha." Suddenly, his whole body freezes mid-breath. Martha watches him, alarmed, while he looks at Rose as if expecting her to eat him or something. The other woman either ignores or doesn't notice it, however, and instead holds out her hand to Martha and smiles.

"Good to meet you! Been traveling with the Doctor long?" Well. Though feeling somewhat petty, Martha would not be outmatched in politeness.

Shaking hands, she says, "I think so, though I couldn't tell you how long." Smile, Martha. Your mother taught you that much.

"Ha, it's like that. You don't even know how long your days are sometimes, am I right?"

"Or how long your jail stays are," Jack chimes in. There's a moment of laughter, and then silence. Which, after a bit, makes itself distinctly known as awkward.

Becoming uncomfortable, Martha mentions to Rose, "He's told me about you." Oh, bugger. What did that even mean? But despite the randomness, the blonde positively lights up.

"Really?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Um, yup!"

Rose is delighted to hear that the Doctor didn't forget about her. Though, she fought hard not to laugh when he introduced Martha. He must have gone a bit dim, to think that she hadn't learned anything from meeting Sarah Jane. She never wanted him to be _alone_, after all. Not that she wouldn't have been… snippy, had she felt the need to be jealous. But the jubilant, loving look the Doctor holds for her and Jack right now precludes such a thing.

God, she wants to get them alone. Talking needs to happen. As does touching, tonguing, and f-

"Er, Tyler? Are you alright?" She turns her head to look at Jefferson blankly. In return, he looks concerned, as if he's been asking after her for a minute now.

"Um…" She's been completely zoned out, hasn't she? Staring at Martha politely but thinking about her men. How rude... "Jefferson! These are Martha - Jones, yeah? - the Doctor, and Jack Harkness. Guys, this is Jefferson Green. He's second in command of today's operation." There's a string of greetings. "And that brings me to a problem."

"Problem? I can't even begin to list the potential problems with the TARDIS. I didn't even get a chance to look at her and see what needs to be fixed after this awful crash. Not that the circumstances are awful – those are amazing- wonderful- swimmi- I actually lack the wo-" The Doctor halts his ranting when Rose plants her lips on his.


	3. Intrigue

**Title**: A Happy Accident  
**Author:** Shen  
**Rating:** PG  
**Summary:** What if, instead of Jack flinging the TARDIS to the end of this universe in Utopia, the ship had jumped universes instead? Originally written for the OT3 ficathon.

"_Problem? I can't even begin to list the potential problems with the TARDIS. I didn't even get a chance to look at her and see what needs to be fixed after this awful crash. Not that the circumstances are awful – those are amazing- wonderful- swimmi- I actually lack the wo-" The Doctor halts his ranting when Rose plants her lips on his._

**Chapter Three: Intrigue**

Immediately, the Doctor stills. Her arms rest on his waist, and he relaxes his enthusiastic gesturing to place his around her back. It's an odd sort of pacifying effect - he can relax because now he knows, yes, this is really happening. She's under his lips and in his mouth, meticulously reclaiming lost territory, and even his dreams aren't this good. Meanwhile, his hearts are doing double-time, stuttering with the joy of it. He squeezes her long and slowly, just to savor it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

What. All right, there is most likely a very good explanation for why Jefferson Green's commanding officer is kissing an unknown alien threat. Even if the threat mostly seemed to be to her tonsils, at the moment.

She _had_ acted familiar with the scenario before the box had even opened, when the bigger male had looked dead, but it was possible that one of these creatures had thrown out some kind of... influence prior to acting overtly. In that case, the leader of the detachment would have been the natural choice for mind control. This is why protocol demands that no one take official field action alone and why he insisted he stay with Rose. Still, she's a tough cookie for an alien to break, especially without any outward sign. He'd served with her a while now. Her first command was over his squad. He had his doubts when this relative rookie got transferred out of one unit and over his, but she proved herself to be, if quirky in style, very competent. It got their squad more and more difficult assignments, until they were put in charge of this entire detachment.

So when he edges around and looks at her face, he knows it's fierce joy and deep seriousness on her features. And the nature of her happy expression is just as genuine as the extreme awkwardness being displayed by the woman in the red jacket. And now that he thinks of it, chemically seducing a para-military commander in broad daylight is one of the worst strategies he's ever heard.

So why does he have the feeling that a small invasion attempt would have been easier to deal with in the long run?

"...What was I talking about?" asks the one called the Doctor. Rose laughs, a light sound he rarely hears from her.

She ruffles his hair affectionately as she responds, "Nothing, and I missed that terribly." Jack walks up and hugs her from behind, to which she responds with a turned head and a kiss.

Woah, wait, she's snogging them both?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Mmm, at last, thinks Jack. He never thought he'd experience this taste again, nor the feel of Rose's slightly different but still delightful curves pressed against his body.

This whole day has been ridiculous. He's just abandoned his team, literally ran out on them like a boy chasing an ice cream van. And now he's who-knows-where, kissing a dead woman.

Though, who was he to hold being dead against anyone?

At this point, he just wants to go with the flow and see where the day will take him, for once. He has no team to lead; the Earth isn't at stake that he knows of. Hell, it's been a while since he's traveled for real, and there undoubtedly exists plenty to learn about what he's missed with his friends.

He's especially interested in knowing why Rose is wearing a Torchwood logo.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"As I was saying," Rose says after kissing Jack, "We have a slight snag. All of us need to talk, a lot, but first we have to go speak with Pete."

"Torchwood in-processing?" the Doctor asks with a hint of distaste.

"Oh, don't pout over it. This 'incident' was reported to the higher authorities, and they need a report as soon as possible. Especially with me sending everyone home. I promise, this is fastest in the long run." She turns to Martha. "I'm sorry about this. Did he explain to you what Torchwood is?"

"My cousin worked there, but this is obviously... different." Rose blinks, taken aback. Who knew she would also be close to Canary Wharf? "What year is it?"

"2013, but the year's not why it's different. You're in an alternate universe, one close to our home one."

"I'm where?!" Rose smiles in what she hopes is a comforting fashion and begins to ramble on to a very shocked Martha about the basics of the situation. Leading everyone to an SUV, Rose allows herself a glance back. Jack and the Doctor are relatively on either side of her, several steps from each other and each looking her way. They hadn't taken advantage of the moment a minute ago to kiss each other, which was unlike them. She might guess that they were concentrating on her, if she were the only new arrival to the group of current TARDIS travelers, but she'd seen the greeting they'd shared. Cold though it was at first. It didn't seem that the Doctor even knew Jack was there.

Weird...

The Doctor and Jack remain on either side of Rose for the walk to the car and as they cram into the back seat. A pleasant cram for her, at least. Jefferson and Martha sit in the front and make polite conversation; her other teammates had caught a ride elsewhere.

Meanwhile, the back seat is oddly silent. Jack surreptitiously slides his hand over her knee. Then shifts his hand up... and up, and up, giving her a smirk. She nudges shoulders with him affectionately, but nothing much words-wise comes out of it. Rose supposes that there was, in a way, _too_ much to be said. At least while they're in a car with other people and can't be talking about such things.

Well, to hell with it. If the talk can't happen until later, she'll worry about it then. For now, she has a moment to just silently bask in how happy she feels. She's going home!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jim shoos away one more group of locals before grabbing a piece of wooden barrier. They'll be back, probably moments after he's gone, but that's not his problem. He's been ordered to head back to HQ.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The creatures watch the large morsel saunter off with a piece of debris. He looks delectable, but they can't marshal so much strength yet.

Soon.

With a sound like the fluttering of wings, they move on to locate easier prey.


	4. It's Complicated

**Title**: A Happy Accident  
**Author:** Shen  
**Rating:** PG

**Characters: **Ten/Jack/Rose, Martha, OC  
**Summary:** What if, instead of Jack flinging the TARDIS to the end of this universe in Utopia, the ship had jumped universes instead? Originally written for the OT3 ficathon.

**Chapter Four: It's Complicated**

Martha imagined the next part of her day would involve being in some gigantic conference room, or at a hearing, or perhaps even in an interrogation suite. The way this Torchwood's been described to her, it seems like a giant federal/paramilitary agency that would have them all signing affidavits in front of multiple officials and submitting to "preliminary questioning." However, contrary to those assumptions, they just get signed in by Rose and Jefferson, then hop an elevator to the top floor of the skyscraper. There is a large but relatively cozy office inhabited by a balding man with close-cropped hair and a certain resemblance to Rose. Confirming her suspicions is a photo on the desk featuring the man himself, a woman of about his same age, and Rose.

Well, isn't that just... swell.

"Pete, I'm back," Rose greets.

"Rose, Green, good; that was quicker than I'd hoped. And Doctor, nice to see you again."

"Pete! Peter-pickety-pete, look at you in your penthouse office. And you've had time to put on a bit of paunch without Cybermen chasing you around, eh?" The man called Pete makes a good-natured half-grimace as he shakes the Doctor's hand.

"Well, some of us don't age as well as Time Lords." Martha senses more than sees Rose's eye roll.

"Doctor."

"It suits you!" the Doctor continues heedlessly. "Very 'distinguished executive.'"

Just as heedlessly, Pete asks, "And who might you two be?" Introductions occur, during which she tries not to sound too dejected, and they run through a quick explanation of what's gone on. She mostly tunes it out, gazing without interest at the patterns on the carpet and the knick knacks on the desk.

"I thought you said it was impossible to get back here." But as this new bit of information drifts into her ears, Martha tries to pay a little more attention.

"I did, and I really thought it was. Apparently my ship just needed proper motivation." Jack shoots a glare at the Doctor, who gulps before continuing, "Er, either that or the walls between our worlds are weakening again. "

"Weakening _again?_" Martha asks, suddenly alarmed out of her funk. Shouldn't things like, "Our Universe Melting Into Neighboring One" have been in newspaper headlines somewhere? For not the first time, she internally laments that the media is such crap at telling everyone what's really going on when it's not cut-and-dry Earth science. And Rose hadn't gone into any of that, just explained that this was a parallel world and gave a description of its Torchwood. Jack looks at the wide-eyed Martha and nods.

"That was what Canary Wharf and the 'Ghost Shifts' were all about. Thinning fabric between our worlds, caused or at least exacerbated by Cybermen trying to pull a fast one on us." He looks chagrined as he continues, "Not that anyone was willing to listen to me when I told them the Shifts weren't to be trusted. Still, even I didn't imagine what they really were until it was too late."

Rose suddenly blurts, "You were around during the Ghost Shifts?! Why didn't you contact us! My mum would have called me if you went to her." Jack grimaces.

"It's... complicated."

The Doctor finishes, "The point is, despite this brilliant side-effect of us being able to see Rose again universal barriers thinning against the Void can't be good, if it's the case." Martha sardonically reflects on how bleeding brilliant everyone seems to be feeling, especially her. As she does, Pete sighs and looks down for a moment.

"Before we plan further, tell me, how long do you plan to stay here?"

The Doctor says, "Mmm, not sure. Your prize agent here wouldn't let me look over my TARDIS-" he pauses to endure an elbow to the ribs. Despite herself, Martha almost snorts before remembering how irritated she is at this entire turn of events. "-to see how injured she is. But you all need to know that it can't be long; we've ripped a whole in the universe. It needs to be sealed and not reopened for a few millennia at least. The longer I let it sit open, the closer it becomes to a serious problem. It could even result in a permanent hole that behaves similarly to the Rift in our Cardiff, with any number of bits and bobs falling through space, time, and the Void to greet you at your front door."

"Wait," Jack interjects angrily, whirling to stand in front of the Doctor, "you knew about me and the Rift? And you never came? Not even to help?" The hurt in is eyes is evident even to a stranger like Martha. Good lord, the dirty laundry in this group of people! For the first time, she begins to think that perhaps it's for the best the Doctor never showed any consistent romantic interest in her. Maybe.

Confronted, the Doctor draws himself up taller and goes, "I knew you were watching over it, didn't I?" Jack growls at the "compliment."

"Wait, what's this about Cardiff?" Rose asks, somewhat alarmed. Jack's handsome, easy-smiling face now holds a severe countenance.

"We'll talk about it later."

For the first time, with some steel in her voice, "You'd better believe it."

After a loaded silence and much glaring, Pete clears his throat.

"Well, why don't you all go to the TARDIS now. Report back when you know about your ship and the state of the universe's walls. And... take your time. I have to make a report to the government and the media. And then, Rose... I'll go tell your mother what's going on. So you can go with them, but you'd best be back later tonight." Rose raises an eyebrow.

"Is that an order?" she asks mildly.

"That's a stepfather's plea, love."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jefferson kindly drives them all back to the TARDIS, and this time the whole car is uncomfortably quiet. The Doctor broods.

He's still happy, in his hearts of hearts. Surpassing every rational expectation, he's found Rose, held her again. He was even surprised at how delighted he was to see and hold Jack again, considering his… affliction. The holding part felt especially nice, when all he could have thought to expect was a punch in his already slightly crooked nose. Not that he minds the crookedness. He rather thinks it gives him character.

And yet, there's about to be a reckoning. One in which an uncomfortable amount of blame rests squarely on his shoulders. Abandonment, lying, and persistent neglect after he realized Jack was in Cardiff. Despite Jack's initial clemency, he could still decide he never wanted contact with him again.

There's also the state of the multiverse to worry about. Oh, he knows there isn't anything pressing, no universal implosions. The TARDIS wouldn't have let him waltz out without so much as a klaxon if that wasn't the case. However, this lull won't last forever, meaning Rose is going to have to choose whether to come with him or not, soon and permanently.

Selfishly, he's still glad to have kissed her one last time regardless. But he shudders to think that he's given her every reason to never want to see him again. Though, maybe it's not entirely selfish. If she stays in this universe now, at least she'll know that she's only missing out on a coward and a liar.

His melancholy is thick enough that arriving at the park in which the TARDIS rests is a surprise.


	5. A Lurking Menace

**Title**: A Happy Accident  
**Author:** Shen  
**Rating:** PG

**Characters: **Ten/Jack/Rose, Martha, OC  
**Summary:** What if, instead of Jack flinging the TARDIS to the end of this universe in Utopia, the ship had jumped universes instead? Originally written for the OT3 ficathon.

**Chapter Five: A Lurking Menace**

The party of five exit the Torchwood SUV and amble into the park. However, just a minute in, the Doctor stops walking. Rose pivots to look at him; he's holding his hands over his ears and grimacing.

"Doctor?!" Everyone else turns, and Jack runs up to support him if necessary.

"Can't you feel that?" the Time Lord grinds out. There's a pause.

Jefferson offers, "I'm not in any pain…"

Martha nods and adds, "I do feel something, like… my insides are vibrating or something."

"Yeah, or I'm sorta disturbed and woozy, but not really? Like I'm being hit by a waffle ray," Rose asserts. Jack bursts out laughing.

"Do you feel like a waffle?" he giggles, looking at her as if she's lost it. Jefferson clears his throat.

"Er, team inside joke, sorry. Theoretically the most useless, slow-acting alien weapon ever: The Waffle Ray. It slowly turns your appendix into a waffle."

Suddenly, an involuntary yell of pain escapes the Doctor, and by tacit agreement, they all rush for the TARDIS. Jack drags the Doctor along as he stumbles drunkenly.

Once inside, Rose's phone rings. She tosses it to Jefferson haphazardly in favor of tending to the Doctor, who has been deposited on the jump seat. Who knows what kind of damage has been done? However, Martha's beaten her there and is kneeling before him, one hand on his shoulder and one feeling around to examine his head and make him look at her.

"Doctor, look at me! Your temperature feels alright, for you, but I need to know if you can focus."

"Stop fussing, 'sjust... loud," grouses the Time Lord, clearly disoriented.

Rose breathes a sigh of relief. He sounds more annoyed than agonized, and Time Lords are amazingly hearty. Then something about the scene pulls her up short. Martha does seem to know what she's doing, but Rose gets the sense she's more stressed than she… ought to be. And she's awful close to the Doctor. Hmm…

She tosses a glance at Jack, who raises his eyebrows back, clearly thinking the same thing.

Still wondering about Martha's behavior, Rose sits next to him and asks, "Do you need anything?"

"Do you have a penlight?" the kneeling woman answers instead. "I'm a doctor," she adds by way of explanation. Oh, so he'd picked out a doctor after she'd gone? Part of her wondered jealously if he'd pinpointed her shortcomings as a companion and made sure to compensate for them with the next one, but she tried to squash it.

"Ma'am," Jefferson pipes up, "word's come in from headquarters that there has been a string of disappearances and odd incidents in this area over the past few hours. Dogs running out of the trees, leash still attached but with no owner. People finding piles of squirrel corpses, that sort of thing." Rose is instantly horrified.

"Doctor, did something follow you here? Could it have?"

"I didn't think so?" he answers, then finally shakes himself to get rid of the last bit of fog. He gets up and hits a flurry of buttons on the console, checking multiple monitors. "The TARDIS isn't showing an appreciably large leak in the dimensional walls. I don't think anything in the Void that's strong enough to eat people could have come through with us." Phew, no lasting damage, looks like.

Martha objects, "Well, it's kind of a big coincidence for it not to be related to us coming here, doncha think?"

Jack shakes his head at the Doctor and offers, "I agree. It's strong now, but maybe it didn't start out that way. Why would it have bothered with squirrels at all if it wasn't afraid of people? In a park like this on a beautiful day like today, there would be scores of humans. The thing could have been almost harmless a few hours ago." The Doctor puts his hand on his chin and begins to pace.

"It's possible. And amazing, really. The Void is a pretty mysterious place; even we Time Lords never catalogued very much of it. We could only enter it in ships designed to keep their reality entirely apart from the outside world because the environment is too varied to design a single ship and expect it to get you anywhere. Most anything that was close enough to the TARDIS this morning and small enough to sneak through the current leak would have been dissolved in Earth's comparatively low pressure, or crushed by it if their territory was more like space. It could have suffocated in your atmosphere or burned to a crisp."

"So what you're saying is that this is just our luck?" Martha asks drily.

"Precisely."

Rose raises her voice with impatience, "Well, we've got to do something! I get that you coming here was an accident, but we're still responsible. And I'm responsible regardless, as long as I'm here."

"Don't forget me, ma'am," Jefferson reproaches mildly. "We're on the same payroll. But I have to wonder - if it was close enough to disable you, Doctor, why didn't it take you while you were so weak?"

"It's not at its strongest yet; we were in a big, intimidating group," Jack says gravely, and Jefferson nods.

"Well," Rose speaks briskly, "you're not coming, Doctor. You're apparently far more sensitive to whatever it does than we are." A flurry of protests explode from him, but Jack and Rose argue him down to a support role - inside the TARDIS. Useless is the Time Lord's least favorite feeling, but he'll just have to rely on humans this evening.

"Well, you aren't putting me on the bench," Martha warns. "I'm coming, too."

"Well, duh, Martha," Rose assures her impatiently. "You've been the Doctor's companion for months; it's not like you're a civilian." Defensive much? Still, Rose reminds herself that Martha's situation is way awkward. She should try to be civil.

A plan is hatched, starting with the need for some of the aforementioned squirrel corpses to necropsy. Coordinating over the phone with Torchwood HQ and through them, the local police, they find out the location of the bodies and also ensure that a full Torchwood unit is en route for backup. Jack for some reason insists on being the one to fetch the things, and Rose doesn't have time to argue. He is quick and canny anyway, bringing a few back in a bag after just a couple minutes. The Doctor runs some tests on them, but the most valuable piece of information comes from just cutting one open and poking around.

"A tissue leech," the Doctor announces as he and Rose stroll into the console room.

"You know what did this?" Martha asks hopefully.

"No, I just named it a minute ago. The leech has taken certain tissues from the bodies - mostly connective tissue, fat, and bone marrow, that I can tell."

"That's an odd mix," Martha says doubtfully.

"Also, the spleen."

Rose asserts, "We can worry about studying it when we stop it eating people. Doctor, you said you have something that can hold it?" He nods.

"A reality cage. It's sort of like a miniature Void Ship. The TARDIS can jettison it when she next crosses over." Apparently, that is the only cell the thing wouldn't be able to "vibrate" through, as the Doctor had described it. Jack clears his throat.

"Now there's just the question of bait."


	6. Bait

**Title**: A Happy Accident  
**Author:** Shen  
**Rating:** PG

**Characters: **Ten/Jack/Rose, Martha, OC  
**Summary:** What if, instead of Jack flinging the TARDIS to the end of this universe in Utopia, the ship had jumped universes instead? Originally written for the OT3 ficathon.

**Chapter Six: Bait**

Jack wanted to be the bait, but Rose put her foot down. He tried asking nicely. He tried being stern. He even tried joking about how, obviously, he's the definitive expert in attracting aliens of all varieties, but it just got him a withering look. And now isn't the time to let his immortal cat out of the bag. So instead, he finds himself looking at some kind of giant bone.

"Doctor, what the hell is that."

"It's a buffalo femur. Fresh from cold storage." Indeed so fresh, the bone still had wet bits of gristle on the ends.

Martha ventures, "Why...?" while Jefferson looks utterly nonplussed.

"Leela and I were going to make soup with it, but I forgot it was down there. Luckily, nothing locks in freshness like my TARDIS," the Time Lord clarifies, as if that helps at all. How the hell long ago was Leela?

"Will it work?" inquires Rose, sidestepping the issue in favor of haste. "So far, this thing seems to like fresh meat."

"I can't be sure," the Doctor admits, "but let me ask you a question. If in front of you is a fully prepared hamburger, are you going to go for that first or take the trouble to prepare the raw ground beef in the fridge? Looking at the squirrels' test results, and also knowing how hyperactive they are, if I had to guess, this creature has to subdue its victims well in order to begin consuming the choice bits of their insides. That's effort, whereas this bone, assuming it's fresh enough, will never try to run away. Easy marrow! We'll just have to hope it hasn't yet learned that there's no such thing as a free lunch."

It's not exactly an airtight plan, but that just makes it a nostalgic TARDIS experience for Jack. He glances over at Rose to find her on the horn to HQ again. She and Jefferson had been keeping them apprised of their plan and also ensuring that the area was kept clear - hopefully a boon for them, in their hopes to attract the thing with their life force or scent or whatever it liked. The blonde speaks with authority, and Jack has to admit she wears it well. Never had she been one to fear making herself heard, but now true steel can be heard in her tone, a mix of confidence and expertise. He wonders what sort of adventures he's missed in the intervening years and hopes he'll have the chance to ask. She was always exceptional, but now, fully grown into herself, he finds her stunning.

Soon, he, Rose, Martha, and Jefferson exit the TARDIS and start walking down a path. Rose is carrying something that looks like a metallic hula hoop with a handle, the reality cage. In silent consensus, they pick a random trail and start strolling in the dark, Jefferson glancing sidelong at the hoop when he thinks no one's looking.

It's hard to be frightened here. Unlike any pitch-black forest from Grimm's fairy tales, this copse of trees seems almost friendly, even in the dark. The trail is wide, and the faint glow of city lights lies just at the edge of one's perception. Jack is looking up at them when he steps on Martha's heel.

"Sorry!" She ignores him, concentrating.

"Did anyone else see that? Like a flash of purple?" Immediately, everyone starts wheeling around, trying to find it. "Drat, I lost it! It was just for a moment." Jack expects them to start walking again, but Rose holds up a hand.

"Wait, maybe if we unfocus..." she trails off, faraway look in her eyes. Suddenly, she gasps. A flash of blue and blonde in motion, and Martha is flung to the ground with an involuntary iwhuf/i on impact. It's almost completely drowned out by Rose's loud, strained breathing. She appears rooted to the ground, frozen except for the wild undulating of her chest and the twitching, widening, violence of her eyes.

"It's in-" she grinds out, almost screeching before breaking off to suck in more air, "inside me!" Every air intake, every blink yells desperation; her pain must be blinding. She begins to moan, and Jack immediately looks around.

Rose had dropped the reality cage, but now Martha grabs it as she rockets off the ground.

"Now, Jack!" She holds the hoop matador-style and tells him with her eyes that he needs to get a move on. But he's already in motion.

"Here, boy! Come! Heel! Toro!" he tries, waving the buffalo bone enticingly behind the hoop. Now that he's gotten the hang of unfocusing his eyes, he can see that a thin line of purple tinged... spindly shadows, for lack of a better word, have vibrated themselves ithrough/i Rose and are holding her there as a veritable wave of them rushes from the trees. However, as he takes in the scene, the wave pauses, swirling around itself in indecision before Rose's captors swim off to rejoin it. Jefferson catches his boss as the mass abruptly surges at the bone. With perfect timing, Martha hits the button on the hula hoop as they go to pass through it and hits it again as the last burr from hell wheels by.

Now, the hoop looks more like a shiny ring around the equator of a giant, greasy brown bubble.

"Expert timing!" Jack congratulates Martha with a hand on the back of the shoulder.

As he runs past her to see Rose, he hears her mutter, "She took that for me..." in wonder. Jack understands the guilt in her tone as soon as he can see his former lover, twitching but otherwise boneless. Jefferson's worry is apparent, but he's already swinging her into his arms and angling back towards the TARDIS. Jack, appalled, runs in front of him to get the door.

"Doctor!!" The desperation, the unrestrained sprinting, the calling for the Time Lord - is it still deja vu if this happened earlier today? But now it's another's life on the line, and contemplation can wait until later.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Rose? Ah, there you are! Wake up, love, before Jack and Jefferson wear a hole in my floor." Rose groans, but a hand gently pats her cheek, making her open her eyes.

"Doctor?"

"Right! And what's the last thing you remember?"

"...Jack acting like a witch doctor?" She distinctly remembers the man flailing about with a bone, anyway.

"Memories intact, good! I was worried. It ishouldn't/i have affected them, but I couldn't be sure. Your body was quite off kilter, neurotransmitters flying around willy nilly, acetylcholinesterase acting in a completely inappropriate and unprofessional manner..." he continued to ramble until Rose pulled a pillow over her head. Taking the cue, he stopped but still looked as nervous as a turkey at Christmas.

"Did you fix it?" she asks. Though tired, she does feel fine, but she also hasn't tried to stand or do anything very complex yet. So, it is to her relief when he nods.

"You're fine now. They were just holding you still; they didn't take any tissue. You weren't such a humerus dinner date for them, and they were forced to cut back on fat," he jokes halfheartedly.

"Thank you."

Now speaking somberly, "But, Rose... the hole I made can only get worse." It's her turn to nod before rolling gingerly off the infirmary bed.

"Well, then we can't put things off much longer."

"I'd like to check the readings one more time."

"And I'd like to check in with everyone."

"To the console room, then." Involuntarily, Rose shivers.

* * *

**Endnote:** You all thought Jack was gonna be the bait, didn't you? ;)


	7. Answers

**Title**: A Happy Accident  
**Author:** Shen  
**Rating:** PG

**Characters: **Ten/Jack/Rose, Martha, OC  
**Summary:** What if, instead of Jack flinging the TARDIS to the end of this universe in Utopia, the ship had jumped universes instead? Originally written for the OT3 ficathon.

**Chapter Seven: Answers**

Rose walks into the console room ahead of the Doctor and is immediately enveloped by Jack and inspected by Jefferson.

"He really healed you that fast? Though you don't look twitchy," the skeptic man observes, walking around her. He prods the part of her back left uncovered by the immortal's arm.

Muffled from Jack's chest comes Rose's voice, "Mfnn."

"...Righto then."

The Time Lord places a hand on the TARDIS' wall and sighs; she gives him a sympathetic mental caress. Just to make sure all is well (physics-wise), he checks a few readings on the console as Jefferson makes a quick report to Rose, and she thanks him for his swift action.

And now, though it feels a bit like shooting himself in the foot to hasten the occurrence of this conversation, he says "Everything's stable still. We have time to talk right now, if you… yes."

Before anyone else can speak, Martha interjects, "Look, Doctor, I see that you three need time to talk-" she pauses, perhaps gathering courage, "-but first, I think I deserve an explanation. We're in some bizarro London that has official alien-fighters, which you've told me is an alternate universe, but that's all I've got. I don't know how we got here; I don't know what's going on; and I don't really know what's up with you three, nice enough as you seem."

Oh, blast it. He's been so concerned with one drama he's forgotten the other – Martha's more than friendly affection for him and how much of it might be- could be- one imay/i imagine is his fault for flirting without follow-through. And now she's looking at him with slightly shining eyes. Glaring _hard._ Oh, Rassilon, even his prodigious brainpower isn't enough for this complication right now.

"Um!"

Rose looks at him expectantly, and he can only give her a pleading gaze in response. She sighs at him, but looks evenly at Martha.

"I am Rose Tyler, and I am from your universe. I traveled with the Doctor for a few years. In the middle of my time with him, we picked up this man, Jack Harkness. He's from the 51st century. To my knowledge, he died. I didn't know he lived until he dropped at my feet earlier today, so the Doctor will have to explain that part to us both. As to why I'm here, I was trapped after the events of Canary Wharf. In closing the breach between worlds, I was nearly pulled into the Void and instead got rescued by my parallel father. So I lived but wound up here. I was told I would never see home or the Doctor again, so this is a surprise." She paused to chuckle and added ruefully, "And it's not exactly how I imagined it."

Refocusing, she finishes, "And, by the way, I'm very sorry you got pulled out of your universe and into our personal drama." Rose turns to the Doctor, who blinks. "Is there anything you'd like to add?"

"No… you hit all the major events. Thank you?" Talk about "a bit of the old teamwork!" …Though it felt more like "pulling his posterior out of the pan."

Jack claps politely.

Meanwhile, Martha wears an unreadable expression but speaks, "Yes, thank you, Rose. This makes the last several months of my life make a lot more sense. You… didn't leave each other willingly?" It suddenly dawns on the Doctor that he never even spelled that much out. Dear lord.

Rose softens her tone, "Not even slightly." Martha takes a slow breath and closes her eyes, then breaths out, some tension bleeding from her form.

"That… adds up. Yes, that helps. Mr. Green, was it?"

"Ah, yes. I mean, no- call me Jefferson."

"Would you like a tour? These three are going to be busy for a while, I think."

The trio walks to the living room, a neutral zone. Immediately, Rose whirls on him, "I meant for you to add an _apology_, Doctor, not your seal of approval. It looked like she deserved one. What did you do to that poor woman?"

Reflexively, he yelps, "Nothing! I-" Her glare pulls him up short. "She likes me, is all. I didn't know what to do. I suppose I liked the attention, but I never _did_ anything with her, I promise."

"You couldn't let her down gently? Just had to ignore it until she fell into your exes' laps and had to see us kissing?"

"I didn't know that was going to happen!" This may have been the wrong thing to say, judging by Rose's expression.

Jack clears his throat, "I shouldn't be inclined to speak in his defense, Rose, but remember: How long did it take us to get him into bed?" There's a pause.

"Yeah, you're right. He's only as emotionally constipated as expected-" Jack snorts - "and with extenuating circumstances, maybe." With much less tartness, she asks, "Doctor, how long has it been for you?"

"I picked her up less than an Earth year after I lost you. It's been less than a year since then. I…" torn down as he is, he can only tell the truth. "I miss you. I miss you both." In the face of his voice and expression - not a pout, certainly, never that - but perhaps a moue - her anger seems to crumple. She hugs him, and he burrows into her gratefully.

"I missed you both, too," she admits over his shoulder. "But why did you let me think Jack was dead?" The tone of her voice holds not malice as much as agony.

"Wha- but I didn't TELL you he was dead! I said he was rebuilding the Earth!" She steps away but leaves her hands on his shoulders.

"Yeah, a convenient euphemism for dead!"

"I seriously can't believe- no, nevermind. If she knew, she would have insisted you come back and get me, so I can believe it." Jack sounds pained and somewhat disgusted, making the Doctor's stomach twist.

"God, that satellite. Jack..." Rose pulls him down by the cheeks and kisses him fiercely. There, as she turns away from the Doctor, he feels the absence of her keenly, for all that she's less than a meter away. Would she ever willfully turn towards him again, after what she's going to hear? Kiss him like that? Meanwhile, Rose is continuing, "I'm so sorry. It must have been horrible."

"I wasn't there too long, sweetheart," he assures her with a half smile. "My Time Agency wrist band could do time travel and teleports, if not pleasantly. Mine was damaged by the Daleks, but it still got me off the satellite."

"But how did you survive the Daleks in the first place?" Jack takes a breath and holds it, for the first time looking like he has as much trepidation about telling this story as the Doctor.

"I didn't." Rose looks hopelessly confused.

"What?"

"I'm not sure how it works myself. I just know that I can't die."

"What?! I don't say this much anymore, but I can't believe that," she protests, eyes wide as she looks at Jack. But now, the man is looking at the Doctor for answers. Fair enough.

"Rose." She looks at him, lost. "Do you remember what you did on Satellite Five?" She nodded; he'd been forced to go over it in more detail when she began to see it in dreams. Before that, he hadn't even known how to bring it up. "You saved me and destroyed the Daleks, right? You exercised your will over the basic building blocks of the universe, breaking sentient creatures and their vehicles into individual atoms and somehow spreading a phrase through time and space. Things you wanted to have done or saw as needing to be done, that fit what you knew to be right. And in this state, you saw a great deal, more than even I can see. Now, once you saw that Jack was dead... well, that was wrong, wasn't it? Your heart said so." At this point, Rose began to take on a visage of abject horror, but Jack had perked up, finally finding a long-lost clue.

"So what you're saying is that I died, and Rose _willed_ me back to life? Permanently?"

"I'm afraid so. And I know you want to ask. Jack, Time Lord technology was advanced, but I'm not sure even the Academy could have fixed you. I can't begin to unravel the knot that's been tied between you and the well of power to which you're connected. I will take a look, but... I'm sorry. You're stuck like that for the conceivable future." Jack frowned, eyes glassy, and he swallowed.

"Oh my God, Jack, I'm sorry-" Rose had started to reach for him, but recoiled, instead putting her hands over her mouth in horror. "You probably don't even want to look at me; I'm a monster. Frankenstein wouldn't do to you what I did." Instantly, Jack jumped and reached for her shoulders, lowering his head to make her look him in the eye.

"Oh, no, Rose, don't cry! This... it's a comfort, really! Now I know it was an act of love. I wasn't cursed by some force; I'm blessed. A blessed overkill, but your heart was in the right place!" The Doctor marveled that Jack could put aside his disappointment so quickly to comfort Rose, but then, he supposed, one had to hear the Serenity Prayer innumerable times in an Earth lifetime as long as Jack's. Perhaps it had sank in. If so, he was a better man than the Doctor himself.


	8. I Still Don't Understand

**Title**: A Happy Accident  
**Author:** Shen  
**Rating:** PG

**Characters: **Ten/Jack/Rose, Martha, OC  
**Summary:** What if, instead of Jack flinging the TARDIS to the end of this universe in Utopia, the ship had jumped universes instead? Originally written for the OT3 ficathon.

**Chapter Eight: I Still Don't Understand**

Jack couldn't describe his mood if he tried. Now he knows why he can't die, finally. The source has been revealed: devotion on a deified level. And yet, knowing changes nothing in the practical sense. He literally has forever to sit on that.

Meanwhile, Rose refuses to even look at him. He can't blame her for his situation, he finds. So he pulls her hands from her reddened face, puts one of his along her jaw, and gently but firmly makes her look at him.

"Rose, beautiful, I forgive you, all right? Look, I'm already used to it. So don't cry." She takes a breath to calm herself and sighs, leaning her forehead against his. He smiles; she hiccups.

"I am sorry," she whispers into the intimate space.

"I know." Finally, she looks him directly in the eye, stares carefully for a moment, and with deliberate motion, kisses him. It's hard and needy and all-consuming, conveying a world of apology with no words at all and reminding him where such nature-bending devotion could come from.

Rose Tyler, he now knows, still loves him.

After a while, she pulls away, and he lets her go, grinning stupidly.

"But I still don't understand. How did we leave you? Doctor, you apparently knew he survived. And Jack, why didn't you find us if you were in my home time?"

"Well," asserts Jack, "my answer's quick. Basically, I was worried. Rose, I didn't remember what year you came from, even though we visited a few times. I knew vaguely, but I didn't want to risk crossing my own timeline, so I thought I'd wait. And I wasn't able to watch you close enough to tell what part of your timeline _you_ were on because I was working for Torchwood. Yvonne Hartman, Torchwood's director at the time, distrusted me to begin with, and if her dogs saw that I was so interested in a simple London residence, it would have brought some unpleasant attention down on your heads. Including your mother's head. Yvonne wanted to meet the Doctor pretty badly as it was; I didn't want to lead her to you guys.

"After all, it wouldn't have been smart of me, to spend all that time waiting on you two and then botch it by being impatient. I had all the time in the world. Or so I thought." He again puts a hand on Rose's cheek, and she squeezes it, smiling sadly. Then, he turns his gaze on the Doctor.

"Now that's out of the way, I want to hear why you left me. You don't need to tell me why you lied to Rose about it."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ah, truly cornered at last. The Doctor stands up straight to tell the truth and face his lot - the only thing he can do when looking his lovers directly in the eye. Thankfully, he's had all day to think of how to explain it.

"Jack, the TARDIS and I find you alarming. It's nothing that's your fault; it's the fact that you are fixed, unchanging, _immutable._" he elucidates, trying to find the right words. "To the base instincts of creatures with an intrinsic link to time, like she and I, that feels off. If it helps give you an idea, that's how we came so far as to jump universes; you startled my ship badly. It's no excuse, but that's reason number one. I ran from you because, at the time of my regeneration, I couldn't deal with it."

"That's..." Rose squints, horrified and groping for the word, "reprehensible!" Jack just glares stonily.

"Let me finish, please," the Doctor requests calmly. "That's why I left you in the first place. Why I didn't return to you afterward is more complicated. Besides being ashamed of myself and being afraid to tell you both what I just told you, my sense of the timelines told me that it would be... incorrect of me to retrieve you before this year. You'd sent yourself to Earth in Rose's relative past and so set yourself on a path I couldn't alter without consequences. How many times have you helped Torchwood save the Earth, Jack?"

"I haven't kept count."

"Well, maybe you were indispensable most of those times. Maybe you weren't, and they would have muddled along without you, if with more loss of life. But this year, you did something, I don't know what, that no one else could do, apparently. That event was a fixed point, and I couldn't remove you before then." Jack's eyes slowly widen in comprehension.

"Abbadon." The Doctor shrugs.

"Probably. You'll have to tell us sometime, if you decide you want to speak to me after this."

"Wait. If that was the event you had to wait for, why did you land right after it, then turn tail and run when you saw me?"

"I didn't land at that time on purpose, actually." He looks to the side as he says it, sheepish, but then he forces himself to look Jack in the eye again. "Jack Harkness, I didn't come to try and see you after 'Abbadon' because... How could I tell you that I had lost Rose?" The question seemed to give the other man pause.

Rose finally spoke up mildly, "Well, you still didn't have to lie about it to me."

"I know. I know that now, and I'm so sorry. And I know you're angry, and you should be, but," the Doctor takes one of her hands and one of Jack's, "please come with me. We'll get through this. I know we can." After seeing what it was like without her, he feels they can get through ianything/i together. "So don't let it stop you being with me. Jack, you too. I want you here." He's thrown himself on their mercy and can only wait. It's emasculating and miserable, but such is his devotion that he'll do it.

Jack rumbles uncomfortably.

"I...I don't want to hurt the TARDIS. I mean, she punched a hole in the universe to get away from me. This can't be comfortable for her," he finishes, waving his hand to indicate the three of them seated in her living room. The Doctor's mouth widens in something that tries to be a smile.

"Well, you rushed at her, didn't you? Either one of you might be perfectly happy to pet a friendly Doberman, even play with one, but if one ever jumps out of the bushes and tries to latch onto you, what will you do?"

Rose says slowly, "Run for the hills?"

"Exactly! And what hills are higher than even the nearest alternate dimension?" His voice cracks on his false joviality. He squeezes their hands and looks from one conflicted face to the other.

It's Jack who speaks first. He's had a great deal of time to think about the Doctor's indiscretions already.

"I'm not over this." The Doctor's hearts thunder, and all other sounds grow faint beside them.

He croaks, "I... I understand," eyes blank.

Then, "But I'll come. Soon if not now. I need to work out something with my team in Cardiff, so I can be on call for emergencies." He looks at Rose, presumably to explain about his Torchwood squad, but the Doctor doesn't hear a word. Jack's coming! This old man will have a second chance to get close to the devilish former Time Agent. And since the tingle in his brain that the chap causes has faded to the barest of white noise, it's completely ignore-able. The Doctor can't wait to take him on an adventure again. It will be… fantastic.

Jerking himself out of his reverie, he looks at Rose with a half smile that might just conceal how terrified he still is.

"Rose Tyler?" he asks softly. "Will you come with Jack and me? Run through the stars again?"

"Yeah, what do you say, beautiful? Going my way?" Jack queries with a debonair smile. Yet even in the face of such charm, it's clear she's not entirely at ease with things. The sense of betrayal isn't over for her, either. Still, her brow does smooth, and her frown fades.

"Well, when you put it that way." The words are barely out of her mouth before the Doctor pulls her and Jack into a hug, and despite herself, Rose laughs at his enthusiasm. He plants a hard, joyous kiss on each of them before turning to leave the room.

"Come on! Universes to mend!" It's because he's looking back to speak to them that he runs straight into Martha.

Half-teasing, she gripes, "You can see all of time and space but can't watch where you're going?" while rubbing her head melodramatically.

"Sorry!" She must see his elated expression, because he receives a small, slightly sad smile.

"I was coming to tell you that there are people outside, including a woman that sort of scares me. She's very insistent about seeing Rose. Jefferson's talking to her now, but I don't think we should make them wait any longer."


	9. New Starts

**Title**: A Happy Accident  
**Author:** Shen  
**Rating:** PG

**Characters: **Ten/Jack/Rose, Martha, OC  
**Summary:** What if, instead of Jack flinging the TARDIS to the end of this universe in Utopia, the ship had jumped universes instead? Originally written for the OT3 ficathon.

**Author's Note:** This is it! Last chapter. This story was the first thing I've written in quite a long while, so please tell me what you think of it!

**Chapter Nine: New Starts**

Rose steps out of the ship and goes straight to her mother, allowing the harassed Jefferson to step aside gratefully.

"Mum…" She swallows, and her mother raises her eyebrows in concern. God, this is hard. "Mum, I'm going." The older woman sighs, surprising Rose.

"Well, of course you're going! I guessed that, didn't I? As soon as Pete told me who'd shown up. But I'm makin' a fuss because you aren't going anywhere without saying goodbye!"

"Oh, Mum, I would never!" Getting teary-eyed, Rose hugs her mother fiercely.

"You're going?" asks Jefferson, regarding her with wide eyes over her mother's shoulder. The older woman backs off and gives Rose a look.

"Go on then. Say goodbye to everyone, but I get the last hug! And himself better come down for one, too." Now her mother's crying, but obligingly, Rose turns to her lieutenant.

"You'll just have to replace me, Jefferson Green. Going is the best thing for me; I'm sorry," she explains gently.

"But I can't replace you!" Usually the picture of composure, he now emanates dismay.

"You'll be just as good as me! Or better; you know I'm crap at keeping up with the paperwork. An' you even have a degree, right?" she cajoles.

"But your experience, and your..." he trails off and makes a vague hand gesture.

"'Perspective?'" she laughs. "You've gained a lot of experience since I took over for your old leader, and I'd like to think my bizarre way of doing things has rubbed off on you, am I right?" Finally, the man musters a smile, possibly thinking of the time she used peanut butter and hand-signal negotiation on a crash-landed alien. She convinced the hungry pilot to subsist on celery instead of unsavory things while he worked on repairs. The downside of that being that the occasional Frax gourmet visits the planet to sample its wares. Not that they attack anyone; they are just incredibly rude.

"Then I promise to keep your eccentricities in mind, Rose. I'll miss you, though."

"You, too." He gets a hug and a kiss on the cheek, and then Rose is saying farewell to her other squad-mates, who must have been ordered here when Jefferson first reported the disturbance. Finally, Mickey is before her.

"It figures; he shows up, and you leave me out of the adventure." He frowns and tries to look pathetic until Rose gives him a shove. "But actually, Rose… do you think I can come with you? Just to hitch a ride?" She blinks in surprise.

"You sure?"

"Yes." While a shock, this does make a sort of sense. His gran has died in this universe. Also, Jake and he have to work closely, but it's incredibly awkward, because apparently Alternate Mickey had a very special relationship with the blonde man, and her Mickey doesn't swing that way. So, what was keeping Mickey here except Jackie, who didn't have much time for him with Tony to take care of?

Rose grins, still impressed at his bravery, and asks, "Mickey Smith, aren't you tired of starting over?"

"What can I say? I'm my own man." He lifts his chin with bravado. Rose looks over at Jack and thinks about his Torchwood… a small operation that's about to lose some of its workforce. Hmm. That's a thought for a later time, however; she pats her lifelong friend on the shoulder to send him over to the Doctor.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Doctor's just sent Mickey, bag in hand (cheeky thing had it in his car in preparation), to find his old room, and now he watches Rose say goodbye. However, he begins to worry about his chances for earning her full trust again, because Jackie is hugging his lover with life-threatening force. Even his advanced physiology is still smarting from the squeeze he'd gotten, to say nothing of the brief but intense lecture on keeping her daughter happy. Meanwhile, Pete pats the older woman's back gingerly.

"Come on, Mum, don't be guilty about staying. You have a little one that needs his daddy. And all that money won't hurt him either!"

Shaking his head, the Doctor next gazes at the shell-shocked Jefferson. If it didn't entail permanently removing the man from his friends, family, and career, the Doctor would invite him aboard. He is efficient and cool under pressure, like a good soldier should be, but without any trace of viciousness. Of course, Rose wouldn't hold him in such high esteem if he had such proclivities.

"Doctor?" comes a voice at his elbow. It's Martha, giving him an odd look. "Can you take me home when we get back?" His jaw drops, and he stands upright.

"Martha, I'm not kicking you off! Please don't leave on our account." But she's shaking her head.

"I just want to go back to my career for a while, before I forget everything I learned in medical school. But," she starts, now pointing a finger at him menacingly, "don't you let me wait forever for a visit! You're not getting rid of me that easily." And medicine isn't so enthralling that she'll never want a ride in the TARDIS again, he suspects.

"Yes, ma'am." He holds open his arms, and, after a split-second hesitation, she comes in for a hug. "And I'm sorry for-" He stalls.

"Yeah, you're a real idiot, albeit one with more problems than I thought. But I'm happy for you," she says in his ear. It's very big of her to say that, and when trying to respond, the Doctor discovers a lump in his throat. So he just nods against her before letting her go.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jackie Tyler watches the blue box steal her daughter away for the last time and tries to keep her eyes from blurring too much. This needs to be remembered clearly. All she can do is be thankful it was done proper, with a real goodbye. She used to fear that some wild circumstance would send Rose back to the old universe without so much as a by-your-leave. This way, at least, Jackie had been able to give her daughter the scrapbook she had so painstakingly prepared for her, just for this occasion.

Pete squeezes her shoulder, and she leans into him. Tony waits for them at home, even as her first child travels farther away than she ever thought possible. But she'll be happy, with her Doctor.

Rose will be missed. It's not perfect, perhaps. But, Jackie's sure, it's absolutely right.


End file.
